Making Laundry Detergent

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite thrifty sites and saved it to my computer months ago. And left it there. See, while I liked the idea of making my own cheap laundry detergent, I was scared to actually do it. I was afraid it would be too hard, or that it wouldn't work as well as store-bought detergent. Finally, though, I got together the ingredients and gave it a try.

I'm never looking back.

This detergent works better than the detergent I normally use (I buy cheap stuff, like Sun and Purex, not Tide, so I can't compare that.) Basically, everything gets very clean except for a few of Annalee's more spectacular clothing messes that have to be stain-treated, washed, stain-treated, washed, etc. Of course, that happened before with my other detergents too, but happens less-often now.

Each batch of laundry soap makes about 2 gallons of laundry soap or more than 70 loads of laundry.

To get started you will need:

20 Mule Team Borax -about $4

Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda- about $3

Fels-Naptha Soap bar- about $1 (in the laundry aisle, near the stain removers)

Final Price for 2 gallons of laundry soap:
$.33 for 1/3 of the soap bar
$.30 for 1/2 cup of the borax
$.20 for 1/2 cup of the soda
Final Price: about $.70 for a batch of laundry soap or $.01 a load!!

Ready? GO!

Liquid Laundry Detergent

6 cups water

1/2 cup borax

1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1/3 bar Fels-Naptha soap, grated (in the laundry aisle)

While water boils, grate soap. Stir borax and soda into boiling water until dissolved. Stir in soap shavings until dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Divide mixture equally between 2 one-gallon milk jugs. Fill jugs with HOT water from the tap (cold water will cause the mixture to gel). Leave a little room at the top so the solution can be shaken. Allow to cool COMPLETELY, shaking every hour or so. Pour into old laundry detergent bottles, if desired.

To use: shake jug and then measure out ½ cup of laundry detergent (or more, for heavy loads). Detergent costs about 1 cent per load.

If you are wondering why this laundry soap works like it did, let me tell you why:
Mule Team Borax is a natural laundry booster that helps your laundry detergent to work better, Arm and Hammer Washing soda is a laundry booster as well as neutralizes and eliminates odors, and the Fels-naptha bar is a stain remover.

So now you know how to make laundry soap! This recipe is very forgiving. The first time I made it I used an Irish Spring bar instead of the Fels-Naptha and it still cleaned very well. (Some websites say you can use any bar of soap.) In fact, even with the clumpy soap (from adding cold water) it still worked just as good as (or better than) the store-bought kind I usually use.

There is also a recipe for powdered detergent. I haven't used it yet because I have always used liquid detergent, but it looks so easy I think I might have to make it next time.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 cup borax (like Mule Team)

1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

2 cups grated soap bars (any kind)

Mix all ingredients dry and store in an airtight container.

To use: measure out 1-2 tablespoons per load of laundry. Detergent costs pennies per load.

Don't be afraid--give it a try!